Ranger 7 Photographs the Moon: 1,000x Closer
Ranger 7 was NASA's first successful lunar probe after six consecutive failures had earned the program the nickname "shoot and hope." On July 31, 1964, the spacecraft plunged toward the Moon at 5,800 mph, transmitting 4,308 photographs in its final seventeen minutes before impact. The last image, taken from just 1,600 feet above the surface, showed details a thousand times sharper than the best Earth-based telescopes could achieve. The photographs revealed a surface covered in craters of all sizes, confirming that the Moon's terrain was rough but manageable for a landing craft. This visual data directly informed the Apollo program's site selection, making manned lunar exploration possible within five years.
July 31, 1964
62 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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